For a city that was divided only two decades ago by 160km of concrete wall, where crossing between east and west was on pain of death, Berlin is quite remarkable.
It's a city I'm almost nervous to write about, given it's history. There are so many people with so many opinions about this place and its influences on the world over the last century. But from my brief observations over the course of only two days, it's a city very much trying to confront that history and be honest about it. It's also vibrant, exciting, energetic, and a fun place place to visit.
We stayed in a fabulous, cheap hotel right on the border of the old wall between west and east Berlin. We visited the Reichstag, which was the former seat of Parliament before the rise of the National Socialists and is now the seat of the Bundestag. We went on a great walking tour around the the main sites, wandered the Tiergarten and Museum Island (aptly named), in fact just did a lot of wandering. We also visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe - a harrowing, thought-provoking and very considered memorial and exhibition concerning the murder of some 6 million European Jews by the Nazis. Poland's Jews made up almost half that number. Many are un-named. And yet, this exhibition space is right in the middle of Berlin, it's impossible to avoid. Which is precisely the point.
My favourite place was the Tiergarten. The leaves had changed from green to yellow, red and orange and were falling as we walked through the wooded paths. I think it reminded me a bit of home in the autumn, with its crisp, dewy air and dappled light.
The Festival of lights was on while we were there, and a selection of major buildings were lit up with choreographed light displays. There were tripods everywhere. We saw more cameras in Berlin than we had seen anywhere before.
Oh! And this one is for Barnes, Becs and Christian - a whole store selling onesies. I kid you not. Even Christmas themed ones. It was quite awesome. I was tempted to send you guys an early Christmas present, but, alas, the store was closed. Maybe next time.
Back soon
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| A sculpture on the wall of the lobby of our hotel |
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| Pretzels! |
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| The Reichstag |
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| At the Tiergarten |
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| This dog was so cool. He dragged this massive stick for ages. It was so heavy, he had to keep dropping it and having a wee rest before starting over again. Hilarious. |
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| The French Huguenot church (built about 20 metres away from, and facing, the German church) |
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| Bicycle mad city - bikes and cyclists everywhere |
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| Berliner Dom |
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| Museum Island |
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| "One Piece" pop up store |
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| Festival of Lights |
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| Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe |
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| Autumn colours |
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